Saddle-post for bicycles



(No Model.)

H.-SERRELL. SADDLE PG'ST FOR BIGYGLES. V No. 562,203. Patented June 16, 1896,

ANDREW B.GRANAM. PNUTO-U'I'HO.WA5HIN5TDN.D c

. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HAROLD SERRELL, OF PLAINFIELD, NEXV JERSEY.

SADDLE-POST FOR BI CYCLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 562,203, dated June 16, 1896. Application filed July 26, 1895. Serial No. 557,195. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom it may concern:

Beitknown that I, HAROLD SERRELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Plainfield, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Saddle-Posts for Bicycles, of which the following is a specification.

Saddle-posts for bicycles as heretofore constructed have generally been made in one of three formsviz., the spring-gooseneck, the rigid L-post and rigid- T-post. WVith the spring-gooseneck there is usually too much of a springing movement, and the height of the gooseneck necessitates the use of a low frame. WVith the rigid L and T posts a high frame of acceptable form can be employed, but with these posts there is absolutely no spring, and the hammering action caused by the inequalities of the road, cross-walks, &c., is objectionable, especially to riders of a nervous temperament,and the same has even been known to unseat the rider.

The object of my invention is to overcome these diiiiculties by a saddle-post in which there is just sufficient spring or yielding to take up the jarring action and relieve the rider.

In carrying out my invention I employ a tube to fit in the upright member of the frame of the bicycle and be clamped at the desired height in any usual manner. Connected to this tube is a bar adapted to receive the saddle and acting with a spring separate from the bar, and which is adapted to yield under the weight of the rider to concussion produced by the inequalities of the road and to such obstructions as'cross-walks, car-tracks, &c. The spring is adapted to normally carry the weight of the rider and to yield to shock or concussion.

I prefer to pivot the bar carrying the saddle to the tube and to employ a helical spring concealed within the tube, and on one end of this spring to rest said bar, and in the lower end of the tube to provide a seat for the spring and a means for applying a tension to the spring and adjusting the same according to the weight of the rider so that the spring will normally carry the same but will yield sufficiently to prevent shock or concussion.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section of the tubular post and elevation of the saddle-bar. Fig. 2 is a plan of the same, and Fig. 3 is a partial vertical section at right angles to Fig. 1. Fig. 4 shows a saddle-bar extending at both sides of the pivot, the other parts being similar to those in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a vertical section and partial elevation; Fig. 6, a vertical section at right angles thereto, and Fig. 7 a plan view of a modification.

The tube a or tube-section may be of any size adapted to be received in the upright member of the frame of the bicycle and be secured thereto in the usual manner. This tube is interiorly threaded at the lower end, and an eXteriorly-threaded plug 1) is adapted to screw therein, and this plug is preferably provided with a notch or kerf 2 for a screwdriver to rotate the plug.

.A head 0, having a flange c, fits over the upper end of the tube a, the flange being securely fastened by brazing to the tube. The head 0 is transversely slotted for the saddlebar d, which is pivoted by the pin or bolt 3 to lugs upon one side of said head, and this saddle-bar acts upon the internal spring, and the head 0 is provided with a bridge 0 extending over the saddle-bar to limit its upward movement.

A cap f is in the upper end of the tube a below the head 0, and between said cap and the plug 1) is a helical spring 6, compressed by the action of the plug and put under tension which keeps the cap up against the under side of the head 0, and the force of this spring is increased or diminished by the longitudinal movement in the tube of the screw-plug b.

The saddle-bar cl at its cam portion 4 rests upon the top of the cap f, and as the saddle and rider are carried upon the bard their weight acts to push down the cap against the action of the internal spring. This spring is to be adjusted to support the weight of the rider, so as to carry the rider when at a state of rest or moving over a smooth even surface, without further compression, but to yield slightly when passing over obstructions or inequalities, the yielding being in the ratio of the obstruction, so as to overcome and relieve the rider from the hammering action and jolting incident to going over rough surfaces and inequalities such as cross-walks, car-tracks, and the like.

In Fig. 4 I have shown the same arrange- IOO ment as heretofore described but adapted to a centrally-pivoted bar cl wherein the saddle can be fastened at either end of the bar, there being cams 5 G, or projections, that bear on the cap f to support the weight of the saddle and rider according to whether the saddle is secured in front of or behind the post.

In the modification shown in Figs. 5 and 6 a blade-spring e is secured in the slotted plug 1) and extends through the tube a and engages the notch at 7 between the central downward projections of the bar (1 the blade being adapted to yield in either direction according to which end of the bar d the saddle is placed on. Various thicknesses of bladesprings e are to be provided to support various weights of riders, and said springs can be quickly removedfor the insertion of a stronger or weaker spring according to the weight of the rider.

The bars cl d are shown with their respective ends at a slight inclination to each other, so that the saddle will be approximately in a correct position in use when on either end.

I have shown my invention as applied to both the L and T forms of post, and the weight pass into the tubular bicycle frame, of a head-piece carried by such tube, a saddle-bar and pivotal connection to such head-piece, 1 and a spring within the tube and acting upon of the complete bicycle is not materially increased, and the parts are inclosed and are not in the Way or unsightly.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination with a tube adapted to pass into the tubular bicycle-frame, of a head-piececarried by such tube, a saddle-bar and pivotal connection to such head-piece, and a spring within the tube and acting upon the saddle-bar, substantially as specified.

2. The combination with a tube adapted to pass into the tubular bicycle-frame, of a head-piece carried by such tube, a saddle-bar and pivotal connection to such head-piece, a spring within the tube and acting upon the saddle-bar, and a plug screwed into such tube and sustaining the lower end of such spring, substantially as specified.

3. The combination with a tube adapted to be secured in the bicycle-frame, and a slotted head-piece secured on the upper end thereof, of a saddle-bar extending both forward and backward of the said head-piece and having a projection, a pivot-pin for connecting the 1 be secured in the bicycle-frame, of a slotted 1 head-piece secured 011 the upper end thereof, and a screw-threaded adjustable plug, a saddle-bar pivoted to and passing through the slotted head and having a cam projection on its under side, a helical spring within the tube and resting on said plug, and a cap under said head and over said spring and upon which the saddle-post rests at its cam projection, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination with a tube adapted to the saddle-bar, there being a downward projection on the saddle-bar for the spring to act upon, substantially as specified.

7. The combination with a tube adapted to pass into the tubular bicycle-frame, of a the saddle-bar, and a bridge upon the headpiece to limit the upward movement of the saddle-bar, substantially as specified.

Signed by me this 23d day of July, A. D. 1895.

HAROLD SERRELL.

Witnesses:

\VILLIAM G. Mom, S. T. HAVILAND. 

